Ok, I’ll just dive in. What struck me most about Pope Francis’ first public appearance was his apparent humility and his focus on prayer. First, he asked us to pray for Benedict and he led the crowd in the piazza and all those listening and watching around the world in an Our Father, Holy Mary, and Glory Be. Granted, it was in Italian, but I think most anyone got a strong enough sense to join in. Then, before giving his... Read more
It’s all about how you read the signs… Today’s headline to a study claiming that Catholics support same sex marriage and want the Church to change its teaching: Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Catholics Want New Direction From Next Pope American voter support for same-sex marriage is inching up and now stands at 47 – 43 percent, including 54 – 38 percent among Catholic voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This compares to a 48 – 46... Read more
I’ll be on HuffingtonPost Live at 11 a.m. ET today to discuss a recent WAPost article on (some) young-ish Catholics and the Church they want. This is sort of a follow up to my recent contribution at the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture which was dedicated to the theme “Emerging Youth Cultures.” One of the other panelists will be Chris Stefanick who runs youth ministry for the Archdiocese of Denver RealLifeCatholic and gives great talks to 70,000+... Read more
In the Vatican reporting about today’s Particular Congregation, mention is made of a proposal that was accepted to dedicate tomorrow evening’s session (presumably starting at the regular time of of 5 p.m. Rome time) to prayer. There was also a proposal, endorsed by the Particular Congregation, to dedicate tomorrow afternoon to prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Cardinal Dean, Angelo Sodano, will lead the prayers. This initiative will also serve as an invitation to the entire Church to pray at this... Read more
Bishop Vasa of the Diocese of Santa Rosa in northern California is requiring teachers in diocesan (Catholic) schools to sign a statement called “Bearing Witness” that they will live in accord with the principles of the Catholic Church. In other words, they are being asked to agree to the mission of their employer/school and not act in ways that controvert the mission. I haven’t seen the statement, but the press coverage implies its authenticity. When I worked at the Vatican,... Read more
Pope Benedict gave his last Audience today. As you can see, Piazza San Pietro was packed. In his address, he gave a quick discussion about the nature of the Church when he described the response to his resignation. At this point I would like to offer heartfelt thanks to all the many people throughout the whole world, who, in recent weeks have sent me moving tokens of concern, friendship and prayer. Yes, the Pope is never alone: now I experience... Read more
Pope Benedict gave his final Angelus Address this morning in Rome. Unfortunately, many of the translations do not include what he said in this clip at the end: “[I]n preghiera siamo sempre vicini.” (“In prayer, we are always close [to one another]”) Lent sort of took me by surprise this year. It started early and I was distracted, not uncommon for me. But the one thing I did have clear was that I wanted to go deeper in prayer. The... Read more
I continue in my belief that Benedict’s decision to resign is a momentous time of reform and readying the Church for the modern age. Last week, B16 addressed the Roman clergy and gave informal remarks reflecting on Vatican II. They were in many ways a reiteration of his 2005 Address to the Roman Curia…which most of us didn’t notice. The fact that he chose now to hit the same theme suggests that it’s important and tied to the legacy of... Read more
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki [STL, JD, JCD] of Springfield in Illinois sent around the following canonical analysis on what to call Pope Benedict when he leaves office on February 28th. He has graciously allowed me to post them for those of us engaged in a different sort of March Madness. Since Pope Benedict’s surprise announcement last week, there has been much discussion about what to call a Pope who steps down from office. The confusion is understandable since a Pope has not... Read more
So, here’s my two cents about B16’s resignation. In a piece in the Washington Times today, I maintain that this is part of John Paul II and Benedict’s vision for the future of the Church. You can read the piece here. Additionally, I think it’s important to note that Benedict will be remembered for influencing two consistories conclaves. The last with his homily on the dictatorship of relativism and this with his extremely clear signals as to what the leadership... Read more
Pia de Solenni
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